Musical instrument structure and case



Aug. 27, 1957 s. eAssm; ETAL ,8

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STRUCTURE AND cA-SE:

Filed Aug. 16, 1.954

- INVENTORS GEORGE GASSIN BY LOUISMCREA ATTOR EY United States MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STRUCTURE. AND CASE George Gassin, Philadelphia, Pa., and Louis N. Crea, Haddon Heights, N. J.

Application August 16, 1954, Serial No. 450,008

2 Claims. (c1. 84-275) This invention relates to the art of musical instruments and particularly concerns a novel means for rendering a bass violin or similar instrument quickly disassemblable for convenient transportation and/or storage and easily reassemblable for use.

Conventional bass violins are very difficult to transport and store because of their extended length. The usual bass violin includes a body and neck formed as a unitary structure. Heretofore the container required for such a structure necessarily equalled or exceeded the bass violin in size and thus was both large and expensive.

We have discovered that it is possible to construct a bass violin as a readily disassemblable structure which when assembled will be substantially indistinguishable from a conventional bass violin in appearance and tone. Our inven tion is applicable also to the violin cello which has similar transportation and storage difiiculties. The invention is also applicable to the construction of guitars, banjo and other stringed instruments including a body and neck.

It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide a stringed instrument with means for quick assembly and disassembly.

It is a further object to provide a suitable case for transporting a disassembled stringed instrument.

It is a further object to provide a means for quickly attaching and detaching the neck of a stringed instrument.

It is a further object to provide a pair of dovetailed plates for quickly attaching the neck of a stringed instrument to the body thereof.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent from the following description taken together with the drawing, wherein:

Fig. l is an elevational view of a disassembled bass violin mounted in a suitable case according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view of a portion of an assembled bass violin showing details of the novel neck-to-body joint according to the invention.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on lines 33 of Fig. 2 showing details of the neck-to-body joint.

Fig. 4 shows in front elevation a pair of dovetail plates which form the neck-to-body joint.

Fig. a side view of a portion of an assembled bass violin slitiwing the disposition of strings, bridge, and string anchoring means.

In Fig. l is shown a case provided with a wall 12 which divides the case into two compartments A and A. Compartment A generally conforms to the shape of the body 15 of a stringed instrument such as bass violin, cello, guitar and the like. Compartment A is adapted to contain the neck 16 of the instrument with attached strings 17, a base peg 18, bridge 19 and bow 20. A cover 13 is hinged by hinges 11 to case 10 which is provided with a handle 14 and latch 21.

The neck 16 is provided with tuning pegs 22 to which the strings 17 are secured at one end. The other ends of the strings are secured to a bar 26. A strap 23 is atice tached to the bar and retains a ring 24 by means of a buckle 25. To the neck 16 on the rear thereof is secured a dovetailed plate 27 which will be explained with reference to Figs. 2, 3 and 4. Flexible clamping members C support the neck piece and strings in the case. Corresponding clamping members D, E, F retain the bow, bridge, and base peg respectively in the case.

The body 15 is of conventional shape and includes the f-holes 28 and holes 29 for mounting bridge 19. A dovetail plate 30 is secured to the constricted top portion of the body as will be explained with reference to Figs. 2, 3 and 4.

In Fig. 4 are shown two dovetail plates 27 and 30. Plate 27 is the male member and plate 30 is the female member. These plates should be made of stainless steel, but may be nickel plated steel or the like. Plate 27 should be about three and one half inches long and three sixteenth of an inch thick for a standard size bass violin and of smaller size for other instruments. The top T of the plate is arcuately curved and beveled and sides S are also beveled. The bottom side B should have a 30 degree bevel so that the side R of the plate is slightly larger than the side J. The plate is rather fan shaped with the top T substantially longer than the bottom B. For a bass violin, the bottom B should be about one inch long. A plurality of holes H counter-sunk to accommodate flat head screws are provided in the plate to permit attachment of the plate to neck 16 by the screws.

The female plate 30 has a channel G arranged to receive the plate 27. The sides 8' of the channel are beveled inwardly or undercut to receive the plate 27 in a snug dovetail joint. The level of channel G should be about one quarter of an inch below the side flanges W. The plate in channel G is about one sixteenth of an inch in thickness. The top T of the plate is arcuate and beveled to conform with the top T of plate 27. The bottom B of the plate 30 should have a 30 degree bevel to conform with the bevel B of plate 27. The top sides T and T of the plates are correspondingly beveled as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4. Counter-sunk holes H are provided to permit attachment of the plate to the body 15 by suitable flat head screws.

In order to attach the plates 27 and 30, the normally solid neck section N of the body is severed by a diagonal cut and as shown in Fig. 2 plates 27 and 30 are disposed to replace the Wood slab removed. This slab will be about five sixteenths of an inch thick. It will be noted that when plates 27 and 30 are dovetailed they conform almost exactly to the contour of the wood slab removed from the neck section N. When the neck section is severed, one part N1 remains attached to neck 16 and the other part N2 remains as part of body 15. Plate 30 is attached to part N2 While plate 27 is attached to part N 1. Note in Fig. 2 how the smooth curvature of the neck section N is preserved by the bevels of top sides T and T1 while the flat configuration of the bottom 31 of the neck section is preserved by the bevels B and B of the bottom sides of the plates.

The snug fit of plate 27 in the channel G of plate 30 is clearly shown in Fig. 3. A small clearance or space L of the order of one sixteenth of an inch is provided between sides W of plate 30 and the facing side 32 of neck part N1 to facilitate ready assembly and disassembly of the several parts. Although plate 27 is shown mounted on neck part N1 and plate 30 on body part N2 the positions of the plates can be reversed, but it will then be desirable to reverse the inclinations of the bevels of sides T, T, B, B in order that they will conform with the external curvature of parts N1 and N2 and flat bottom side 31.

In Fig. 5 is shown the arrangement for anchoring the lower ends of the strings with provision for ready assembly and quick detachment. Peg 18 has a tapered dowel 33 which fits into an aperture in the bottom of body 15. Ring 24 is engaged on the peg. When strap 23 is tightened and held by buckle 25 the strings 17 are stretched tight over bridge 19 via bar '26. Bridge 191's anchored in apertures 29 ofbody 15. The upper ends of the strings are of course held by pegs-'22 on neck 16 which is attached to the body by the dovetail joint heretofore described. The strings are tunedin the'conventional manner by'means ofpegs 22.

To disassemble the instrument, pegs 22 are first loosened. Thebuckle 25 is released so that the ring '24 is disengaged from'peg 18. The neck may then bereadily removed by separating the dovetailed parts and peg18 is removed from the body. The separate parts then fit easily'andcom'pa'ctly in case 10 as shown in Fig. l for convenient transportation *and/ or storage.

Although certain dimensions have been mentioned as preferable for use in a bass violin structure other dimensions may be used for other instruments.

We claim:

1. Abass violin or like musical instrument, comprising a hollow resonant body, a bass peg removably secured to the lower end of said hollow body, a first dovetail plate secured to the upper end of said hollow body, the dovetail in said plate having converging sides, a neck for said violin, a second dovetail plate secured to the lower end of said neck, the dovetail in said second plate also having converging sides and shaped to mate with the dovetail in the first plate to detachably secure said neck to said hollow body, a plurality of tension adjusting pegs attached to the upper end of said neck, a plurality of strings attached at one end to said tension adjusting pegs, a bar having a strap secured thereto at the lower end of the bar, the opposite end of the strings being attached to the upper end of said bar, and a ring on said strap which is engageable with the base peg to hold the strap, bar and strings against the pull of the tension adjusting pegs, and a bridge disposed between the hollow body and the strings to space the strings from said hollow body.

2. A bass violin in accordance with claim 1, wherein the two dovetail plates are secured diagonally to the hollow resonant body and neck, respectively.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED .STATES PATENTS 3'50;693 'Mustill Oct. 12, 1886 600,507 Bremerman Mar. '15, 1898 1,160,392 Domashewicz Nov. 16, 1915 1,843,034 Levgovd Jan. 26, 1932 2,469,582 Strong May 10, 1949 FOREIGN .PATENTS 349,566 Germany Mar. .4, 1922 

